Month: March 2023

MK Stalin turns 70: A look at his political journey and events planned around his birthday

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin celebrates his 70th birthday today. Born on March 1, 1953, Stalin is the son of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

The DMK chief’s birthday is expected to be celebrated with plenty of pomp and fervour by the DMK cadre in Tamil Nadu. Some of the events planned for his birthday include a massive rally involving national political leaders. Those expected at the event include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.

Other events for the celebration of Stalin’s birthday include a photo exhibition that will be inaugurated by Kamal Haasan and welfare programs, public discussions, sporting events and even gifting of gold rings to newborns.

During his five decades in politics, Stalin has seen several challenges, faced downturns and many victories. Here is his political journey over the years.

Named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Stalin was involved in politics from a young age. When he was still in school, he was part of the election campaign for his uncle Murasoli Maran and he created a DMK youth wing for his neighbourhood in Chennai.

He rose through DMK ranks in his early 20s and was even arrested during the Emergency in 1976. He held posts in the general council, became the member secretary of the youth wing, party treasurer and executive president.

Stalin fought his first assembly election in 1984 from the Thousand Lights constituency in Chennai but lost. Five years later, he won from the same constituency. Re-elected three times from the same constituency, he switched to Kolathur constituency in 2011.

Stalin was the first directly elected Mayor of Chennai, holding the position between 1996 and 2002. He was responsible for several development projects and was given the nickname of ‘Managara Thanthai’ (Father of the City).

Stalin became the Deputy Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu from 2009 to 2011, the first to hold the position in the state. After his father’s death in 2018, Stalin led the DMK to secure 38 of Tamil Nadu’s 39 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

In 2021, Stalin led the DMK to return to power in the southern state after his party won 133 of the total 234 assembly seats.

Also read: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin who led DMK to return to power after 10 years

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

From sticks to flowers, how India celebrates Holi beyond colours

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Holi, the festival of colours, is a celebration of spring. The festival is celebrated with flowers, prayers, colours and sweets. This year, Holi will be celebrated on March 7, and 8 in the country. Although the essence of the festival remains the same, the way it is celebrated varies from region to region.

Here are some of the unique forms of Holi celebrated across India:

Lathmar Holi: This form of Holi is celebrated in the town of Barsana in Uttar Pradesh. The celebrations see women from Barsana beat men from Nandgaon with sticks or lathis, in a friendly manner. The festival recreates the legend of Lord Krishna, who was from Nandgaon, being teased by Radha and her friends, who were from Barsana. The men playfully try to defend themselves with shields but eventually give in to the women’s attacks.

Phoolwali Holi: This Holi celebration takes place around Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. The celebration sees devotees throw flower petals instead of coloured powder. The celebration takes place at the Banke Bihari temple, where the idol of Lord Krishna is adorned with flowers.

ALSO READ | Holi 2023: Date, time, significance and all you need to know about the festival of colours

Yosaong: This is a unique form of Holi celebrated in the northeastern state of Manipur. It is a five-day festival that marks the beginning of spring. The festival is celebrated with traditional dances and music, and the lighting of bonfires.

Hola Mohalla: This form of Holi is celebrated by the Sikh community in Punjab, where it is called Hola Mohalla. The festival is celebrated with martial arts demonstrations, poetry readings, and other cultural events. The event was started by the 10^th Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, as a way to strengthen the community and train them in warfare.

Phalgun Purnima: Celebrated in Bihar, the Phalgun Purnima is the last full moon in the Hindu calendar. The day is celebrated in Bihar along with the Phaguwa, as Holi is called in Bhojpuri. The lighting of the Holika pyre is observed throughout the state on the eve of the Purnima and Phaguwa. Bhang is served as the traditional refreshment on the day.

ALSO READ | The history and significance of Holi: Exploring India’s most colourful festival

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Sequoia’s Surge unveils its eighth cohort of 12 startups across India and Southeast Asia

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Sequoia India & Southeast Asia’s rapid scale-up programme for early-stage startups, Surge, has launched its eighth cohort, featuring 30 founders across 12 companies. These include startups that are building futuristic products across climate tech, artificial intelligence, the Metaverse, digital health, new consumer brands and new models of e-commerce.

Since its launch in 2019, the accelerator has helped its participating startups raise over USD 2 billion in follow-on funding from Surge and other co-investors, Sequoia said in a press release.

“Surge 08 founders are building next-gen products and businesses that have the potential to revolutionise their sectors over the next decade. These diverse set of founders each bring with them unique experiences and expertise to create ambitious and differentiated products and platforms to the problems they are tackling – and we are excited to be a part of their early company-building journeys,” said Rajan Anandan, the managing director of Sequoia India & Southeast Asia, and Surge.

50% of startups in latest cohort with a female founder 

“Half of the startups in Surge’s eighth cohort have at least one female founder, Surge 08 also includes two health tech companies using AI to improve insurance and medical imaging, two climate-tech companies, a metaverse gaming platform for GenZ, an AI company that has worked with NASA, as well as three exciting consumer companies that are building new-age brands in the home decor, food and wedding sectors,” the venture firm said in a statement.

Also Read: Mintoak bags $20 million in round led by PayPal Ventures and PhysicsWallah maps out road to profitability

The Surge programme has backed over 300 founders across 130 startups in 16 sectors till date. While it initially wrote cheques of between $1 million and $2 million each in startups, it has since increased the backing amount to up to $3 million. Some noteworthy startups from earlier Surge cohorts include Scaler Academy, Khatabook, Locad, Classplus, Plum and Bijak.

Eighth cohort smallest, so far 

The current cohort is its smallest yet. The accelerator programme had backed 15 startups in its seventh cohort, 20 in its sixth cohort, 23 in its fifth and 17 — the largest cohort, so far — in its fourth, 15 in its third, 20 in its second and 17 in its very first cohort in 2019.

Surge combines up to USD 3 million of seed capital with company-building workshops, a global curriculum and support from a community of mentors and founders. The programme’s goal is to supercharge early-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia and give founders an unfair advantage, right out of the gate, Sequoia said in its press note.

The latest eighth cohort is currently in progress and the founders are going through a 16-week hybrid programme focused on company building. The past speakers and mentors in the programme include Sanjeev Bikchandani (InfoEdge), Girish Mathrubootham (Freshworks), Kunal Shah (CRED), Amrish Rau (Pinelabs), Abhiraj Singh Bhal (Urban Company), Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal), Yamini Bhat (Vymo), Doug Leone (Sequoia Capital), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm), Ashwini Asokan (vue.ai/Mad Street Den), Deepinder Goyal (Zomato), Nithin Kamath (Zerodha), and Vidit Aatrey (Meesho).

Profile of 12 startups in eighth cohort

Here is a brief profile of 12 startups which have made it to Surge’s eighth cohort:

• Arintra: An AI-powered autonomous medical coding platform that helps US hospitals get paid better and faster by automating their insurance claims submission.
• AltWorld: A metaverse gaming platform that allows GenZ gamers to create custom 3D worlds easily, and connects these worlds to offer an immersive social gaming experience.
• Bifrost: Builds virtual worlds and synthetic datasets that artificial intelligence teams can use to train AI models for applications in areas such as gaming, the Metaverse, mobility, robotics, space, and defence.
• Calyx Global: Helps businesses choose better carbon credits with rigorous and independent carbon credit ratings.
• Diri Care: A consumer-first tech platform providing on-demand, affordable products and services for a range of health and beauty needs such as skincare, haircare and personal care in Indonesia.
• MasterChow: Offers a range of ready-to-cook Asian pantry staples to make home cooking easy and convenient.
• Metastable Materials: A deep tech company pioneering a low-cost, clean and highly scalable method of recycling lithium-ion batteries.
• RedBrick AI: A SaaS platform that helps companies build medical imaging artificial intelligence.
• Requestly: Building a SaaS platform to empower developers and quality assurance engineers to test and debug web applications in real time.
• Tentang Anak: Indonesia’s fastest growing parenting ecosystem that provides a one-stop solution for holistic child development.
• Vaaree: A curated marketplace for high-quality home products in India.
• Meragi: An online platform that provides modern wedding-related services.

Also Read: Federal bank, TANSIM, and Mindescapes join hands to support Tamil Nadu startups

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Axis Bank completes acquisition of Citigroup’s India consumer business for Rs 11,603 crore

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Private sector lender Axis Bank on Wednesday announced that it has completed the acquisition of Citigroup’s India consumer business from Citibank N.A. and NBFC consumer business from Citicorp Finance (India) Ltd. as going concerns.

The transaction has been completed for an overall consideration of Rs 11,603 crore in cash, based on the contracted computation of closing positions of assets, AUMs and liabilities as of January 31, 2023. The acquisition has been completed without values being assigned to individual assets and liabilities for either business.

The cash consideration is subject to contractual and customary true up and / or true down adjustments and changes in business position between January 31-February 28, 2023.

As per M&A terminologies, True-up means a payment made post-closing of a transaction to adjust for any difference between the purchase price, which was determined on the transaction’s closing date and the actual purchase price that become known only after the closing date. A true-up payment is made to the buyer only if the financial metrics of the target are worse than the parties agreed.

With this, the lender now becomes the owner of Citibank’s India consumer business and NBFC consumer business. The post completion action items will be completed as per mutually agreed timelines.

Back in March last year, US bank Citigroup announced the sale of its consumer banking businesses, including credit cards, retail banking, wealth management, and consumer loans to Axis Bank as part of its plans to exit retail operations in 13 markets for Rs 12,325 crore, subject to customary and contractual adjustments.

With this deal, Axis Bank will acquire about 30 lakh unique customers of Citibank India, seven offices, 21 branches, and 499 ATMs across 18 cities.

Citibank, under its first woman CEO Jane Fraser, decided to exit the 13 markets to conserve capital and focus on higher-yielding revenue streams. Citi entered India in 1902 and started its consumer banking business in 1985.

The deal was approved by the Competition Commission of India in July last year.

The cash consideration along with any true-up or down payments will be accounted for as goodwill and other intangibles, which will entirely be amortised for accounting purposes in the current financial year.

Back then, Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, Axis Bank, told CNBC-TV18 that the Axis-Citi deal will be accretive in every which way. He added that a deal of this magnitude comes once in a lifetime as it has catapulted Axis as the number three player on the credit card and the wealth management side.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Standing Tall: Stocks that are bucking the trend amid a broader market sell-off

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Nifty 50 index declined for the eighth straight session on Tuesday, breaking below its Budget-day low of 17,353.

The index has now declined over 4 percent during this period.

However, eight constituents of the Nifty 500 index have bucked the trend during this period and come up with double-digit returns instead.

The Nifty 500 index, which represents around 90 percent of the total market capitalisation, has moved in-line with the Nifty 50, declining 3.8 percent over the last eight trading sessions.

The list of outperformers features companies from within the financials and consumer discretionary segments. While rising temperatures and a heatwave warning has raised demand for cooling products, select financial names have risen on the back of strong earnings in the December quarter.

The outperformers assume more significance as nearly three-quarters of the Nifty 500 components have seen their stock price decline since February 16.

Here’s the list of outperformers:

Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank closed at a record high of Rs 71.50 on Tuesday. It reported a strong December quarter, backed by growth momentum in deposits as well as AUM, along with further improvement in asset quality.

“We remain positive on the name for its medium-term prospects and see Equitas SFB achieving RoAs/RoEs of 2.3 percent / 18.9 percent by financial year 2025 with acceleration in loan growth, moderating credit costs and cost moderation driven by operating leverage,” analysts at JM Financial wrote in a note.

Olectra Greentech’s shares have also been in focus over the whole of last week after it announced that it has developed a Hydrogen bus in a technical partnership with Reliance Industries.

The recent surge has also led to Tube Investments recovering all of its losses for the year. The company is expanding its EV business with its subsidiary recently signing agreements with investors to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore for the same.

Another outperformer has been PB Fintech led by positive commentary from the management on achieving its full-year target for the next financial year. The company also narrowed its losses in the December quarter to Rs 87.6 crore from Rs 298 crore during the same period last year.

Also Read: Paint companies outperform in muted market session as crude cools, rural demand revives

After five years of consistent negative returns, shares of Symphony have seen some buying interest in 2023. Shares of the air cooler maker have already gained 29.2 percent so far this year, with the stock surging as much as 42 percent from its November lows.

Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department foresees above-normal temperatures between March and May. The weather department expects an increased probability of heat waves in most parts of the country during the period.

Also Read: India is the place to be for many German companies, says SAP CEO

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Stocks to Watch: Adani Enterprises, Delhivery, RIL, Bharat Electronics, Power Grid, HDFC and more

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Also Read: February auto sales preview: Car demand to remain skewed towards SUVs

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Trade Setup for March 1: 17,300 comes to the rescue for Nifty 50 yet again but only just

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Nifty 50 is hanging on to the 17,300 level by the thinnest possible thread but managed to defend the level for the second day in a row. Tuesday was the eighth straight day of losses for the index.

Investors lost another Rs 16,000 crore on Tuesday, taking the total drop in February to Rs 13,000 crore. BSE-listed companies have now lost Rs 25,000 crore in market capitalisation, marking the biggest ever drop in the first two months of the year.

The Nifty 50 managed to defend 17,300 on Tuesday despite breaking below Monday’s low of 17,299 and making a fresh intraday low of 17,256, 100 points adrift of the Budget-day low, which was once considered a crucial support.

Pharma stocks were among the top losers on the Nifty 50 on Tuesday, followed by Metals and heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ITC, and BPCL.

Today’s session would see the market react to quarterly GDP figures, which came in marginally below a CNBC-TV18 poll. More macro data will be reported today with companies reporting monthly auto sales for February, along with the country’s manufacturing PMI.

Abhiram Eleswarapu of BNP Paribas believes that the market may be getting complacent about rate cuts and that the expectations of rate cuts in the second half of the year may be misplaced, given how strong the US economic data has been. Speaking of the foreign inflows moving from India to China, Eleswarapu said that it is possible for China to outperform India for some more time.

What do the charts suggest for Dalal Street?

After having declined for eight straight sessions, Jai Bala of cashthechaos.com expects a pullback in the index but the rallies are likely to be short-lived. He does not see the index going beyond levels of 17,600 – 17,700. For the near-term, he sees support for the index at 17,030, 16,934, and 16,750 on the downside. “These supports may provide temporary relief but we have got much more downside to work with,” he said.

The Nifty 50 index has corrected over 800 points from the February 16 high of 18,134 without any pullback move, leading to momentum readings on the lower timeframe charts entering the oversold territory, according to Ruchit Jain of 5paisa.com. He does not believe taking a bearish view on the index at current levels as the risk reward is unfavourable.

Jain also advises keeping an eye out on the Dollar Index, movement of the USD-INR and the bond yields, where the rally has resulted in more selling within equities. Immediate support on the downside for the Nifty 50 is seen in a broad range of 17,100 – 17,300.

The Nifty 50 may have broken below its Budget-day low but the Nifty Bank is still holding on to its low of 39,490. The index has formed a doji candle on the daily chart, according to Kunal Shah of LKP Securities. He sees the index support at 39,700 and upside resistance at 40,300 and a break on either side will lead to trending moves. However, Jai Bala advises caution to not take the non-breaking of the Budget-day low as a sign of strength.

Here are key things to know about the market ahead of the trading session on March 1:

SGX Nifty

On Wednesday, Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — declined 33 points or 0.19 percent to 17,366, thereby pointing to a subdued opening for the market.

Global Markets

Benchmarks on Wall Street gave up most of Monday’s gains to end lower to end a rough month overall. The Dow Jones fell over 200 points, while the S&P 500 declined 0.3 percent. The Nasdaq ended flat.

For the month of February, the Dow Jones ended 4.2 percent lower, thereby turning negative on a year-to-date basis. However, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq remain in positive territory for the year, despite losing 2.6 percent and 1.1 percent respectively for the month.

What to expect on Dalal Street

Osho Krishnan of Angel One advises traders to not short the Nifty 50 at current levels and wait whether any follow-up selling takes place or not. He expects 17,200 as an immediate support, with upside resistance at 17,400 and 17,500.

Sentiment is very bearish as the Nifty 50 closed below its 200-day moving average, according to Rupak De of LKP Securities. He expects the index to further decline towards 17,150 – 17,100, with immediate resistance visible at 17,400.

Rohan Patil of SAMCO Securities believes that while the overall trend is negative, a minor recovery at current levels cannot be ruled out. He sees immediate support for the Nifty 50 at 17,250 – 17,200 levels, with resistance capped at 17,550. In case the index breaks below 17,200, the next downside support is at 17,000.

Key Levels To Track

For tomorrow’s weekly options expiry, the 17,400 strike call of the Nifty 50 index added 47.8 lakh shares in Open Interest, followed by the 17,300 call, which added over 37 lakh shares. The 17,500 call also added nearly 31 lakh shares in Open Interest.

On the downside, the 17,300 put added 22.8 lakh shares in Open Interest, while the 17,400 put saw shedding of 16.1 lakh shares.

Nifty 50’s put-call ratio has slipped further to 0.67 from 0.72 on Monday. No stocks are currently in the F&O ban.

FII/DII activity

Long Build-up (Increase In Price and Open Interest)

Short Build-up (Decrease In Price and Increase In Open Interest)

Short Covering (Increase In Price and Decrease In Open Interest)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow